


I'm still the one you hate to love

by Gilrael



Series: I am what I am [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: EnnoTana Week 2017, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2017-06-04
Packaged: 2018-11-08 21:19:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11090139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gilrael/pseuds/Gilrael
Summary: “Can I ask you something?”Chikara grumbled his consent, unwilling to let go of the sleepiness.“Have you talked to your father already?”There went Chikara's sleep. “No,” he groaned, turning over on his back. “I'll tell my parents when we visit them next weekend.”“He's going to hate this,” Ryū sighed.“He hates my entire life already.”---Written for EnnoTana Week Day 7 (free prompt)Another missing scene fromI am what I am. Takes place some years afterI'll make no apologiesand can be read without knowledge of I am what I am.





	I'm still the one you hate to love

**Author's Note:**

> _No, I won't go quietly, admit I am your enemy_  
>  _I'm still the one you hate to love_  
>  _Everything I ever was_  
>  (KMFDM – I am what I am)
> 
> And here we have another scene that never made it into I am what I am because it didn't fit the tone. Most of it fits in between Chapter 14 and 15, but the last paragraph happens shortly after the Epilogue.

Maybe this whole thing was a stupid idea. Maybe he should've waited until Japan finally legalised same-sex marriage and spared himself all this hassle, but there was a part of Chikara that refused to wait for this old-fashioned society to change. Mostly, he refused to wait for his own father to change.

And so when he came home after handing in his final film project, he went straight to Ryū's room and got out the gold ring he had bought just a couple of days earlier.

“What are you doing?” Ryū asked, eyes going wide when Chikara went down on one knee.

“I'd like to adopt you into my family registry. If you want me to, obviously.” He was nervous, his intestines tying themselves into knots as he waited for a response. Meanwhile, Ryū just stared, slack-jawed and a little teary-eyed.

“Yes,” he finally choked out, voice giddy with happiness. “Holy fuck, yes!”

With shaking hands, Chikara slipped the ring on Ryū's finger and was immediately pulled up into a bone-crushing hug.

 

Hours later, Chikara found himself resting his head on Ryū's naked chest, about to drift off to sleep.

“Can I ask you something?”

Chikara grumbled his consent, unwilling to let go of the sleepiness.

“Have you talked to your father already?”

There went Chikara's sleep. “No,” he groaned, turning over on his back. “I'll tell my parents when we visit them next weekend.”

“He's going to hate this,” Ryū sighed.

“He hates my entire life already,” Chikara shrugged, staring up at the ceiling. “And I really want us to be family.”

Ryū placed a quick kiss on Chikara's cheek. “I can't wait to sign those documents.”

This right here was exactly what Chikara wanted for the rest of his life, and he would fight his father for it if he had to.

 

~~~

 

As excited as Ryū was about this whole adoption deal, he was still worried. Not about his own family. If anything they were _too_ excited about the prospect of Ryū getting “married”. Chikara's mum wasn't the problem either since she had long ago come to terms with the fact that her son was never going to fall in love with a woman that could give her the grandchildren she so desperately wanted.

No, the problem was – as always – Ennoshita Daisuke and his narrow mind. Sometimes Ryū was baffled by how stubbornly this man refused to let go of his visions for his son's life. Until the very end, he'd hoped that Chikara would drop out of film school and do something “useful” like studying accounting or engineering instead. He also probably still hoped that Chikara's relationship with Ryū was just part of a rebellious phase.

Well, they were going to shatter that hope very soon.

Warmly, Ren invited them to enter her house.

“I made that curry you like so much, Ryūnosuke-kun,” she said, smiling broadly as they sat down around the kitchen table.

“It smells lovely,” he said, throwing a nervous glance at Daisuke who had sat down across from him.

Throughout dinner, Daisuke remained silent, while Chikara, Ren and Ryū made idle small talk, but Ryū could feel the disapproval with which Daisuke looked at him. He had stopped voicing his objections a long time ago, probably at the insistence of his wife, but in moments like these Ryū was reminded that his presence in Chikara's life was merely tolerated and certainly not welcome.

After dinner, Daisuke was about to get up and leave, but Chikara stopped him.

“Mum, Dad, we have an announcement to make,” he said, making Daisuke sit back down at the table.

“Oh?” He furrowed his brows, obviously suspicious. Ryū noticed how Chikara's back had gone rigid with nerves and carefully placed his hand on his knee in an attempt to calm him down.

“Ryū is going to start applying for teaching positions soon, and before that happens, we'd like to get married,” Chikara explained stiffly. “It would raise suspicion if he suddenly changed family names in the middle of the school year, so this seems like the best time for us.”

“You can't get married,” Daisuke said matter-of-factly. “It's legally impossible.”

“We are aware of that,” Ryū replied, slipping into polite speech.

“It's why I am going to adopt Ryū into our family registry.”

“That's wonderful, isn't it, honey?” Ren replied, throwing her husband a stern look.

“Just do whatever you want!” Daisuke yelled, making everyone else flinch. Then he got up and left the room. Ren sighed deeply, an apologetic smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“I'm sorry boys, he's just being stubborn,” she said, shaking her head. “But I'm really happy for you. Please take good care of my son, Ryūnosuke-kun.”

“I will.”

 

Later that night Ryū had a certain sense of déjà vu as he and Chikara lay down on the futons Ren had set out for them.

“I'm glad your mum is so understanding,” he said, pulling Chikara close.

“Yeah,” Chikara sighed, snuggling closer. “If it wasn't for her, I'd never come home at all.”

_I'd probably feel the same_ , Ryū thought, softly brushing his fingers through his finacé's hair. 

 

_*** Years later... ***_

 

“My co-workers were talking about Chikara's film during lunch today,” Daisuke said, frowning at his pasta like it had personally offended him. Ren slowly chewed her food before setting down her fork.

“Have you seen it already?” she asked, not the least bit surprised when Daisuke shook his head. “You should really watch it. It's quite interesting.”

“It's still in cinemas, right? We could make it a date.”

Ren smiled. “We haven't been on a date in a while.”

Daisuke shrugged, still unwilling to look his wife in the eyes, but she knew he was just being stubborn as always, so she picked up her fork again and went back to eating.

“Have you heard from Chikara and his husband?” Daisuke eventually asked. He'd only started referring to Ryūnosuke as Chikara's husband quite recently.

“I talked to Chikara on the phone yesterday. He's really excited that his film is doing well. And Ryūnosuke's students are apparently going to the national volleyball tournament,” Ren said, trying her hardest to keep a straight face when she noticed her husband's pleased facial expression.

_It's slow progress_ , she thought,  _but at least it's progress._

 

**Author's Note:**

> A quick note on the adoption thing: When I did my research for I am what I am, I found out that adopting adults into a family registry is a very common thing in Japan. From what I understand it's mostly used for business reasons (e.g. a CEO of a company might adopt the person they want to take over the company into their family so the person can inherit the company), but it's also something some gay couples take advantage of since only very few places in Japan allow gay marriage.
> 
> Well, I hope you had a lovely EnnoTana week! You can find me on [Tumblr](http://gilrael.tumblr.com), where I mostly reblog Haikyuu!! and other anime and also sometimes rant about uni.


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